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_...... TECHNICAL IDGHSCHOOL CRESTS/LOGOS Dinthill Technical High School NOTES ON COVER DESIGN Dunoon Technical High School The cover highlights the main theme of this monograph which is The Kingston Technical High School (KTHS) Story The newly designed Crest has incorporated the Motto, Training and Character into the overall format. Holmwood Technical High School Photographs on the cover are of: • Two final year - 2003-2004 academic year students, Paul Reid and Jani eve Tate • One of the early KTHS buildings formerly used as a Principal's residence in the early days St. Andrew Technical Associated with the KTHS Story are High School brief histories of six of Jamaica's technical schools which have been at the forefront of the developments in technical education at the secondary level in the country. The crests/logos of these schools are shown in miniature, but larger versions are shown in the separate sections on each school and are also reproduced below. Vere Technical High School THE KINGSTON TECHNICAL IDGH SCHOOL (KTHS) STORY With short histories ofDinthill, Dunoon, Holmwood, St. Andrew, St. Elizabeth and Vere Technical This is the story of a historic institution (KTHS) which has been a pioneer in technical education in Jamaica over its hundred year history. Part 1 It is a story of: • Principals who have provided leadership and inspiration to succeeding generations ofstudents • School Board and staff of all categories who have served faithfully over the years • Students who have made the school proud by their contribution to 'life after school' • The alumni who have supported the school in its growth and development • Parents and guardians who have supported their children as they passed through the difficult years ofadolescence • An institution which has been an inspiration to other schools at the secondary A. W. SANGSTER level which have followed in its footsteps • An institution which has been a philosophical inspiration to its tertiary level partner the College of Arts Science and Technology, now the University of Technology. It is also the story ofdevelopments in technical education from a Ministry ofEducation perspective, Part 2 Finally a series ofshort histories ofsix technical high schools that have followed the leadership ofKTHS, Part 3 The author is deeply indebted to the many individuals and institutions that have provided information or who gave their support to the publication in one way or another. Many ofthese persons will either appear in the text or are listed in the Notes and References or in the Acknowledgments at the end ofthe publication. Dedication: The publication is dedicated to the members of these school communities who have laboured long and hard to make the institutions what they are today. In so doing they have contributed greatly to the development ofthe Nation. ~ • Typesetting and Imaging: Mr. Alfanso Delano Fraser • Editing: Miss. Daphne Comrie • Printed by: Prestige Printers and Stationers Ltd. • Published by: A. W. Sangster • Date: December 2004 • ISBN No: 976-8192-66-6 © The material published in this history is the property ofA. W. Sangster Permission to copy or reproduce any material herein requires the written approval of the author E-Mail: [email protected] I PART 1 I KINGSTON TECHNICAL HIGH SCH()OL. ITS ESTABLISHMENT AND DEVELOPMENT Introduction to the History of KTHS. One of the direct results of this was the establishment of a school to begin to address the problems. KTHS The early history of Jamaica is dominated grew out of this time of great technical need. Jamaica by sugar as the staple industry of the faced a new era and there was a great demand for country. Slavery and the plantation system institutions through which ambitious people could were the'major legacies of the country1s history. build a better nation. Reginald Murray writing on "Skill Training Since 1920" makes the following comments: "The decades between 1920 and 1950 were marked by a search for vocational training modalities that would be suited to the circumstances ofa poor people who were becoming increasingly self-conscious under a colonial government that was endeavoring to preserve the viability of the large sugar and banana plantations with their endless demand for cheap labow: The search for training modalities was most dogged and multi-directional in the sphere of the technical a11d industrial arts. To begin with, there was the one technical and commercial school located in Kingston PHOTO COURTESY NATIONAL LIBRARY OF JAMAICA to serve the elltire island - a sort oftower in the midst of some eleven lesser manual training centres The fluctuation in prices for sugar and the hardship attached to schools in the rural parishes. The purpose and uncertainty associated with this single industry ofthe school was quite clearly stated,- it was to extend led to serious thought being given to providing the education given in the ordinary public elementary training in various skills, in an effort to.,.strengthen the schools and to provide special vocational training - economy of the island, to develop alternative technical and commercialfor boys, and domestic and industries and to reduce unemployment. commercial for girls. Day and evening classes were held. The school also provided courses in woodwork and metalwork for boys and cooking and laundry and the like for girls selected from the public elementary schools in Kingston. The Principal, in addition to controlling the work of the Technical School (as the institution came to be known) was for years attached to the Mico Teachers College as instructor in "manual training". He conducted classes in the subjects under reference and, as Organising Inspector of Manual Training, supervised and examined the work of the other manual training centres in the island. One of the proud boasts of the school was its affiliation with the City and Guilds of London Institute.(1) PHOTO COURTESY NATIONAL LIBRARY OF JAMAICA IONOSTON TECHNICAL HtoH SCHOOL(KT><SI STORY 1 Kingston Technical High School (KTHS) must be No history of CAST/UTech could therefore be regarded as the pioneering institution in Technical and complete without reference to the history of KTHS. Vocational Education in Jamaica. (Fl) There are a numberofreasons for this. Firstly, as the first technical school in the island it played a leadership role in technical education and Jed the way in the introduction of curriculum elements that represented alternative educational directions to the traditional academic programmes of study in the high schools. KTHS and later CAST were therefore philosophica11y attuned to the development and establishment oftechnical education as legitimate and important alternative educational directions which the country not only should take, but which were in fact critical to its future industrial development. In addition, the early planning for a tertiary level KINGSTON TECHNICAL HIGH SCHOOL institution revolved around the concept ofa Kingston (ORIGINAL BUILDING) Technical College, a name which features in early planning documents but which was never used for the As such its role in the d e v e l o p m e n t o f t h i s new institution. Instead the first name for CAST was component of the educational system needs to be the Jamaican Institute ofTechnology. properly recognised. The school provided the necessary leadership and direction to the process of Secondly, KTHS by whatever name it was called in its recognizing the role that Technical Education should long history was an alternative secondary school to and would play in national development and gave the traditional high schools. It therefore provided an impetus to a number of other important educational avenue of opportunity which would not developments. Among these were the establishment have been available to many aspiring young ofother technical high schools and the impetus it gave Jamaicans. In a similar way CAST, and later UTech in the start of its tertiary level partner, the College of would provide an alternative and viable tertiary level Arts Science and Technology (CAST). technical educational opportunity, to the more academic and traditional UWI. Many of the first and earlier students at CAST were graduates from KTHS. KTHS has a proud record of having made a great and significant contribution to Jamaica1s development. It has a list of illustrious graduates who have gone on to serve with great distinction in a variety of fields not only in Jamaica but also in many other parts of the world. In fact the KTHS/CAST partnership has continued in the reverse as many of the teachers at KTHS are graduates of CAST/UTech. THE COUEGE OF ARTS SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY (CAST) 1958. Footnote {F 1.). The abbreviation KTHS is used throughout the text to refer to the Kingston Technical High School irrespective of the name at that particular period of its history, unless the specific name at the time of the school1s development is necessary. The tenn CAST is also used throughout the text to describe the new tertiary institution, although in its fonnative year, 1958 it was known as the Jamaica Institute of Technology and in 1995 became the University ofTechnology, Jamaica (UTech). 2 -~HICHSQ400l.(ICTHS)lnOR't' Thirdly, several staffmembers ofKTHS moved to the new tertiary institution when it was being established In this connection it is interesting to note that in and were the pioneers in an exciting new national Professor Patrick Bryan's book Jamaica the educational adventure. The first designated principal Aviation Story,(2) reference is made to a of CAST, Mr. Alistair Thomson was also advisor to comment by Flight Lieutenant Dudley the Government on developments in technical Thompson on the performance of the ground education and had previously been Principal of crews in support of the flight crews in World KTHS. He had also played an important role not only War 2. Thompson states: The ground crews in the planning of the new institution but also in the were marvelous.

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